People crowd into the new Trader Joe’s at Colorado Boulevard and East Eighth Avenue for the grand opening of the specialty grocery store Friday. Two other Trader Joe’s locations in Colorado also opened Friday.

Shoppers may be delighted that Trader Joe’s opened its doors earlier this month but some who live near the Denver store are not.

With cars constantly filing in and out of the always-full parking lot, many who live near the corner of East 8th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard are concerned about the negative impact the grocery store is having on their neighborhood.

“We tried to prepare for the zoo-like thing that would happen but people are wondering, ‘Oh my gosh. Is it always going to be this way?'” city councilwoman Mary Beth Susman said.

Anticipating the opening, Susman added Trader Joe’s to her biannual town hall meeting agenda weeks ago. Since the opening Susman has received seven e-mails of concern and three e-mails from people who are excited about the store.

“I’m not surprised at all by the traffic,” she said. “I went on the first day by car, then by bike, then by foot. I recommend foot,” she said.

Susman said the town hall was a place for neighbors to come and share their thoughts about the opening. She expects a higher than usual number of attendees.

Susman believes that the excitement about the opening will die down in six to eight months and then traffic and parking revisions can be addressed.

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